Bearcats Young and Old; Willamette's women's basketball team features a core of seniors and a slew of freshmen in 2003 season

SALEM: For second year head coach Tom Steers, this season’s
version of the Willamette University women’s basketball team will
be one final season for half the squad and one new beginning for
the other half.

The Bearcats open the 2003-2004 season tonight at the Bon
Appetit Classic at Lewis and Clark.

Five seniors rule this year’s team, led by four-year players
Simmie Muth, Jammie Muth, Abby Unick and Sarah O’Brien. They’ll be
joined by one of the Northwest Conference’s most exciting players
in Deanna Lund (pictured left), playing her second season as a
Bearcat after transferring from Clark Community College.

The freshmen class includes a pair of Bearcats soccer players,
Kari Woody and Lisa Tollenaar. They are joined by Ashley Mollet,
Brianne King and Christina Moore.

The sophomore class is represented by Megan Scheelar, another
Bearcat two-sport athlete, Anna McLuen and Megan West, a transfer
student from UC-Davis.

Juniors Danielle Page and Meredith Stevens are both red shirting
this season; Page to attend school abroad and Stevens to
rehabilitate a torn ACL.

“We’re little, but we’ll fly,” said Steers. “We’re going to have
to force turnovers and play up-tempo. If we get into a half-court
game against these big NWC schools, we’ll be in trouble.”

Steers has added another Silverton connection to his coaching
roster. Tara Schmidgal played for Steers at Silverton high School
before spending four years at Western Baptist. She’ll join Chris
Blackburn (2nd year), who teaches at Silverton High and is a member
of the Silverton City Council.

Last year, the Bearcats were 8-17 overall, 2-14 in the NWC.

“We’re going to experiment with a lot of lineups early in the
season, especially as we work in the volleyball and soccer players.
We’ll be flexible enough to go with a big line-up and a small unit.
It’s going to be a fun season as we bring the team together.”

Here’s how Steers breaks his team down by position:

Point Guard: Simmie Muth (10.9 points per game, 4.1 rebounds and
59 assists in 2002) will get most of the minutes here. A Solid
ball-handler and good shooter, Simmie knows how to make this team
run and get us into the offense. Senior Sarah O’Brien (2.9 points,
2.0 boards) will back-up Muth at point guard. O’Brien is the
Bearcats most versatile player and she’ll get minutes at shooting
guard and both forward positions this season.

Shooting Guard: Jammie Muth (8.5 points, 2.5 rebounds in 8 games
in 2002) and Abby Unick (4.5 points, 2.0 rebounds) give the
Bearcats a solid duo here. Add in freshman King, who is one of the
better shooters on the team, and the Bearcats shold be able to put
up some points from the outside this season. Unick continues to
improve offensively and she’s the Bearcats most tenacious defender.
Steers will be looking to her for intensity and leadership, as well
as more points. Muth returns after missing most of last season to
study abroad. She’ll add shooting and steadiness to the Bearcats at
both ends of the court. She’ll also play some small forward.

Small forward: Along with O’Brien and Jammie Muth, Kari Woody
and Lisa Tollenaar are expected to be a big part of the line-up
this season. Both are Bearcat soccer goalies and will need some
time to adjust to college ball once they finish soccer season. Both
are athletic, solid players. Expect Woody to get major minutes
soon.

Power forward: Deanna Lund (10.4 points, 6.2 rebounds) came into
this season in great shape and it will show in increased minutes.
She can score inside and out, rebound and play solid defense. Anna
McLuen, who appeared in 12 games last season, has also impressed
Steers and will share time with West, the transfer student from
UC-Davis.

Post: Moore and Scheelar (2,1 points, 1.2 rebounds), when she
returns from volleyball, will get the minutes when Steers needs a
big presence inside. Both have the size and leaping ability to give
the Bearcats solid rebounding and defense inside.